Guatemala - a relic of the ancient Indian culture of the Mayan descendants (photo and editing: Walla Studio! NEWS)
Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a vast ancient Mayan civilization that flourished more than 2,000 years ago in northern Guatemala, new research suggests.
The long-lost urban grid contained nearly 1,000 settlements over 1,700 square kilometers, which were linked by a huge road system, which was mapped using airborne laser devices, known as LiDAR.
LiDAR is a detection system similar to radar but based on laser light rather than waves radio. In recent years it has been used to scan parts of tropical rainforests for signs of ancient civilizations. The lasers used in these systems are able to penetrate through thick rainforests - and reveal what's on the ground beneath. This method has revolutionized the study of archeology, among many other fields, because it Used to reveal signs of ancient human activity buried under dense vegetation - a very common problem for Mayan researchers.
The researchers were flying the instrument over parts of Guatemala as part of a mapping effort when they encountered what they describe as an ancient Mayan civilization.
Studying their maps, they could see that the ancient civilization consisted of more than 1,000 settlement centers most of which were linked by roads.
The researchers were also able to diagnose that the people who lived there in the past lived in great density - a finding that contradicts theories that suggest that early Mesoamerican settlements tended to be sparsely populated.
A lost Mayan civilization was discovered in northern Guatemala (Photo: screenshot, Ancient Mesoamerica (2022))
The results of the LiDAR survey "revealed an extraordinary density of Maya sites" in the Mirador-Calacmol Karst Basin (MCKB) in Guatemala, "challenging the old perception of a sparse population in this region during the Preclassic period, spanning from 1,000 BC to 150 AD", This was written in a study published this month in the journal Cambridge Core.
Scientists led by Richard Hansen, an Idaho State University archaeologist and director of the Mirador Basin project, offer "an introduction to one of the largest, most continuous, regional LiDAR studies published to date in the Maya Lowlands," an area covering parts of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, according to the study.
"The LiDAR survey revealed an extraordinary density and distribution of Maya sites concentrated in the MCKB, many of which are linked directly or indirectly by a huge road network that includes about 180 kilometers of elevated roads," the researchers added.
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The researchers also found evidence of large platforms and pyramids in some settlements (photo: screenshot, Ancient Mesoamerica (2022))
Hansen and his colleagues have flown LiDAR instruments over the MCKB for years at altitudes of about 600 meters to look for hidden traces of ancient settlements.
To their delight, the study revealed "dense concentrations of new and previously unknown sites," including "massive platform and pyramid structures" that indicate the presence of a centralized and complex political structure.
The researchers also found evidence of large platforms and pyramids in some of the settlements, indicating that some of them served as hubs and centers for work, recreation and politics.
They also note that some of the settlements had sports fields that previous research showed were used to play a variety of different sports that originated in the area.
The researchers also found that the people of this civilization built canals to transfer water and reservoirs to hold it to allow use during dry periods.
The team also explored the remains of Dante's 70-meter-high pyramid located in the Mayan metropolis of El Mirador, which served as a major public attraction and tourist attraction.
"Depending on the natural formations of the rock beneath the structure, the entire structure could have included as many as 6,000,000 to 10,000,000 workers—suggesting a high level of organization as the socio-political and economic patron that brought about such prodigious growth," said Hansen and his research colleagues.
The dazzling new discovery sheds light on the people who lived in the bustling cities of this forested basin for more than 1,000 years.
Hansen and his team hope that future research will continue to uncover the secrets of this ancient civilization—and perhaps uncover new settlements that have remained hidden for centuries.
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